I never considered myself as a beach holiday person but after a recent trip to Molyvos (also known as Mithymna) on the island of Lesvos in Greece, well, I’ve learned that I definitely can be. I stayed four days at the Delfinia Hotel for a friend’s wedding and apart from the wedding there was plenty of time to explore the village and laze by the pool.
Greek time is fantastic…everything seems to go in slow motion…or maybe it was all that napping by the beach and hotel pool that made it feel like weeks rather than days! And the food! The food was generally utterly fantastic and always fresh – these were my favourite bites during my time there.
On the day we arrived, we were all pretty shattered after an overnight flight and connection at Athens and after long naps, we rose at about 4pm to have lunch and were driven by the bride-to-be to Taverna Vafios just outside Molyvos (their website has a good map). Oh, how we feasted as if we hadn’t eaten for years.
Toasts grilled with olive oil and oregano arrived first with a Greek salad that started my love for feta cheese. That toast sure came in handy for sopping up all the delicious sauces from our main courses.
The meze were all fantastic. Onions were stuffed with rice and meat and aubergine balls were little fried fritters of the mashed vegetable.
Cheese pies were fried and well…there was cheese in lots of things – stuffed into courgette flowers, put into tomato fritters, and one of my favourites, fried!
Main courses were generally good but these two were excellent. Chunks of tender pork had been cooked in wine and oregano and was my favourite dish but lamb with chickpeas was also fantastic, having been cooked with just a hint of cumin.
This wasn’t even half the food for all of us (I think about 10 in total) and along with a few beers and ouzos, the meal came to only €15 for each of us.
Taverna Vafios
Vafios, Molyvos
After even more lazing about by the pool, we met up later that night to eat again. This time, our destination was in Molyvos, in its harbour. Their working harbour is lined with fishing boats bringing in fresh catches at all times of the day; needless to say, there are plenty of cats waiting for a treat. Facing the boats are lots of restaurants and ours was near the end – The Captain’s Table.
Among the meze shared on the table, of particular interest were the salted sardines (sardeles pastes). The sardines served on Lesvos are quite well known and this is one particular method that is popular to eat with ouzo. They are fresh salted sardines and their flesh has been cured by the salt. They’re, you know, salty but very tasty if a little spiny. We also had some amazing anchovies served with lots of olive oil but I didn’t get a good photo of them.
Individual main courses were ordered and many of us went with The Captain’s Platter which was just as humongous as it sounds. There was a variety of grilled fishes, from sardines to a whole sea bream, as well as a large grilled prawn and some fried calamari. Everything was incredibly fresh and delicious and I struggled to finish even half of this plate. A bite of a friend’s grilled octopus was equally fantastic.
Again, with drinks all around, the meal came to €15 each again. It was an absolute bargain for all that seafood. Almost all the seafood served here had been caught locally by the fishermen in the area.
The Captain’s Table
Molyvos Harbour
The next day, while wandering around the harbour and village in the morning, we came across lots of octopus tentacles hanging out to dry in the sun – these below were hanging outside of The Captain’s Table.
It’s a brilliant sight and one that triggered our visit to the Octapus restaurant in the harbour for lunch. Oddly enough, we didn’t order any octopus! We did have a few meze though.
Their tzatziki was very good and very garlicky and, of course, we ordered a Greek salad too. I never encountered a bad Greek salad in Greece.
These slices of fried aubergine may look a bit anaemic but they were perfectly cooked and crisp. Fantastic.
Their zucchini pie was also delicious and more like an eggy, cheesy, chock full of zucchini tart than a pie. It seems very doable at home too…
Our main course of pork souvlaki was quite dry though and I’d recommend sticking to the meze and seafood. This time, with only two of us sharing and only a bottle of water between us, the bill came to…€15 each. This must be the magical island of €15!
Octapus
Molyvos Harbour
The harbour isn’t the only place to find good restaurants in Molyvos. The cobbled market streets winding up and down the hill are shaded by wisteria vines and the buildings are filled with little shops and cafes and restaurants. (Speaking of shops, I highly recommend the shop run by the Women’s Association of Molyvos, located on the main road. They sell lots of local products, lots of which they created or harvested themselves, and there’s lots of pastries made in their large kitchen in the back.)
We were utterly smitten with the tiny Cafe Oysia and loved their frappe and cappuccino freddo (we were told there that the young Greek people now preferred the more trendy cappuccino freddo to the traditional frappe). Their cheese pie was also very good.
They’ve only got a tiny balcony, with two tiny tables, that overlooks the harbour and beaches. We lazed there for ages with our frappes and wondered if we really needed to return to London.
We went back the next day, making us regulars in our eyes. The proprietor even recognised us the second day and saved us a seat on the balcony when others left! I do wish we had had time to try all the sweets in their display.
Cafe Oysia
Molyvos
We stumbled upon Giros Corner when looking for a light dinner and it immediately charmed us. To the left of that photo below was a gorgeous view over the sea. I loved eating outside in Molyvos and the beautiful views available everywhere certainly didn’t hurt.
This was pork giros with tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and chips all wrapped in a beautiful pitta. It was just as good as it looked…and the best part? Only €2.50.
They also serve souvlaki and it was significantly better than that we’d had earlier at Octapus. Still, I think their giros are better.
Giros Corner
Molyvos
Even the food at our hotel (the Delfinia Hotel) was delicious. These courgette flowers were stuffed with rice, cheese and dill and were incredibly moreish.
For drinks at night, we went up to the castle where there was a cafe/restaurant. It’s a beautiful place at night (and also not bad to visit during the day though it’s a bit hot) and it was clear enough for us to spot the Milky Way up in the sky.
There’s also a loud but popular beach bar down by the beach and also a little place that had traditional Greek music on Friday evenings (not sure about other nights) along one of the market streets.
And, of course, the wedding was pretty amazing too. The bride arrived by boat! The groom’s niece was incredibly cute! And they had arranged for an old fashioned ice cream vending bicycle to be part of their wedding reception!
To get to the village of Molyvos, you need to first get to Mytilene, the main city on Lesvos. From there, you’ll need to either book a taxi (they are crazy) or rent a car or wait for the infrequent bus to get to Molyvos. I could have spent a week there easily, exploring every nook and cranny of the village and nearby villages too. For more information about the island, do take a look at Matt Barrett’s excellent Lesvos Guide.
Tamarind and Thyme 
Fri, 31 Aug, 2012 at 01:21
Lunch at 4pm, napping by the pool and eating lots of tasty food. Sounds like perfection! I won’t go to Lesbos as its not my thing but it’s nice to read about it.
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 10:51
I didn’t think it was my thing either but it’s a lovely place!
Fri, 31 Aug, 2012 at 06:00
reminds me of my time spent in Crete. Fantastic. All the dishes are so typically Greek; it’s easy to lump Greece in with mediterranean food in general, but the little cheese pies, gyros and zucchini pie, you just won’t fin anywhere else. And, of course, the Frappe – that blend of sugar, condensed milk and instant Nescafe shaken together with ice..
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 10:52
I agree with you on the ease in which to lump Greek food with Mediterranean food. I wasn’t actually expecting much food-wise but everything was so delicious.
And with today’s weather, I ought to get the ingredients to shake together my own frappe.
Fri, 31 Aug, 2012 at 10:31
Goddamn it! You came to Greece and didn’t even send an email or something? =)
Excellent post, love the descriptions and photos as usual. It’s funny reading that you love feta; most people in Europe find it too sharp for their tastes, but the secret with feta is what you accompany it with to ‘counter’ its piquant flavour.
I’m no fan of Frappé and kind of scoff whenever I see how popular it is here; it’s the equivalent of the Freddo-type beverage you’ll find at any anglosaxon coffee shop, typically with the same insanely unhealthy amounts of sugar etc, but with trashier coffee and milk: Nescafé instead of some premium espresso. If you’re into coffee and want to try something local, give ελληνικός (greek coffee) a try. It’s more or less the kind of coffee you’ll find in many other parts in the eastern Mediterranean, like Turkey, Lebanon etc. If you’re into tea (I am), Greece has some unique teas that are not bad (but, in my opinion fall short of the vastly richer offerings of China, India and Japan): you can give ‘mountain tea’ a try (see here) next time you’re around.
D.
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 11:17
Mea culpa!
We did try a Greek coffee and it’s ok in my books. Not my favourite though. What is your opinion of the cappuccino or espresso freddo that all the “young people” are drinking?
Sun, 2 Sep, 2012 at 18:15
Having only been to Greece after GCSEs on a girly holiday, and then a party trip (urgh) to Kos, I feel Greece now demands more exploring. Great write-up.
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 11:17
Yes, more exploring required!!!
Sun, 2 Sep, 2012 at 21:55
Sounds fantastic, I love Greek food in all it’s variety. Funny how meals there go from meat heavy to meat free, and both are equally fabulous. So much more to it than we get to see here.
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 11:23
I could easily have eaten all veggie while I was there! I love their creative ways with vegetables.
Thu, 6 Sep, 2012 at 13:17
Linoleum,
I don’t see a reply option under your reply to my comment, so here it is:
Serving espresso coffee and its variants (viz. Cappuccino, latte, macchiatto and the ‘Freddo’ variants) are a relatively recent development in Greece; it has become more common in the last twenty years or so. Greeks traditionally consumed either Greek coffee (which I don’t like) or filter coffee (which I find largely pointless).
I love good, freshly ground espresso, not as an everyday beverage (remember I am a green tea person), but occasionally with a biscuit or something in the afternoon, most often served with a generous dose of milk — which would make it Caffè Macchiato, or, if I overdo it with the milk, Latte Macchiato (I often overdo it). Commercially sold espressos in Greece are often below par in its preparation.
Espresso Freddo is loosely defined as a double-shot of espresso with ice added (the cappuccino variety also has cold milk added instead of the frothing milk found in the ‘normal’ cappuccino). With the high temperatures often found in Greece in the summer, having a ‘cold’ espresso, with or without milk, is more or less the only way you can enjoy your coffee. So, to answer your question, I don’t mind ‘Freddo’, as long as it is well prepared.
Sadly, commercially sold ‘iced coffee’ drinks sold in Greece (such as Stabucks’ frappuccino and those like it) are very similar to those you’ll find in the U.S. or the rest of Europe and often (but not always) contain an insane amount of sugar and/or syrup and I avoid them like the plague. In those cases, they are very similar to Nescafé Frappé, with the only difference being the vastly superior coffee — which is somewhat ironic given how saturated the taste of the beverage is due to the sugar and how little difference the quality of the coffee makes in that case.
Fri, 7 Sep, 2012 at 18:09
Dispite I don’t like sea foods but I’ve read whole your post.. Thanks for information
Tue, 11 Sep, 2012 at 09:54
Oh how you make me want to go back to Greece!! Love your post, and your description of the tiny balcony and the frappes makes me want to rush out and book a flight…
Sun, 30 Dec, 2012 at 08:56
[…] Eating in Molyvos (tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com) […]
Thu, 28 Feb, 2013 at 11:43
[…] Eating in Molyvos (tamarindandthyme.wordpress.com) […]
Fri, 2 Aug, 2013 at 12:05
Hi guys – I am actually getting married in Lesvos next summer and the ice cream vendor looks brilliant! A bit off piste but would it be possible for you to get his details from the bride? Thanks so much! Sarah
Mon, 5 Aug, 2013 at 17:51
OK, I’m on it! You’ll get an email from me soon!